Related Articles

We all know that people in the UAE are a giving bunch and we've just had further confirmation. A new study conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation has named the UAE as being the ninth most generous nation in the world.

The World Giving Index, surveyed 139 countries across the globe and measured each destination's generosity on its willingness to help strangers, donate to charity and volunteer its time.

At ninth place, the UAE's ranking is one place higher than its' position last year. It also makes the UAE the most generous state of all those surveyed in the Gulf.

In the UAE, 71 percent of respondents admitted to helping a stranger, 55 percent donated to charity, while 27 percent had volunteered their time. Kuwait fell 12 places to become the 31st most generous nation in world while Saudi Arabia climbed seven places to 48.

The UAE’s high ranking coincides with the nation’s Year of Giving initiative which aims to promote the country’s strong ethos of giving back to the community.

Interestingly, the survey also found that while the Middle East is becoming more generous, the top 20 most charitable nations in the Western world are becoming less giving, as every Western country in the top 20 experienced a decline.

The US fell from second place to the fifth while the UK fell three places to become the 11th most generous country in the world.

For the fourth year in a row, Myanmar has been named the most giving nation in the world while Africa has experienced a substantial rise in the giving index. In fact, Kenya’s many aid projects helped the country secure the number four spot on the list.

“It confounds traditional views of the link between wealth and generosity, confirming what we all surely know: that giving is about spirit and inner motivation, not about financial means,” said Chief Executive of Charities Aid Foundation, Sir John Low of the findings.